From: "Sarno, Anthony J" (Anthony.Sarno@PSS.Boeing.com) Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 06:45:12 -0800
I thought that it might be nice to pass along my recent experiences regarding removing and replacement of the stock intercooler with the GREDDY unit.
My friend Shane Craddock from Australia asked me to help him install his new inter-cooler into his red 91 MR-2 Turbo. Overall this was quite a difficult job, and it should not be attempted by mere mortals, unless you are blessed with eyeballs on the end of your fingers. I have previous experience working on Toyotas myself and currently own a basically stock red 91 MR-2 TURBO, having previously owned (2) MARK 1 MR-2's as well as a Tercel (rather poorly disguised lawn mower, in my humble opinion).
This GREDDY intercooler provides reduced intake restriction, quicker throttle response, quicker spool-up, and reduced intake plenum temperatures. Shane is apparently very happy with this mod.
Anyway here it goes:
USUAL CAVEAT: That butchery that you may possibly inflict on your poor unsuspecting car is your own bloody fault. This job is best achieved with (2) people, in order to remove and replace the a/c compressor. Access to an INDY pit crew would be nice. Access to the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders would be even nicer....
By the way , the instructions from GREDDY are in Japanese. They do an adequate job of showing pictorially how to assemble the intercooler components.
¼ and 3/8 Sockets, flex socket would help, extensions, torque wrench, combination wrenches, floor jacks, safety glasses (especially useful for working underneath the car), common sense, plastic bags, ink pen, labels, trouble light, screwdrivers, a garage, a chase car for lost/broken parts, wheel chocks/equivalent, work gloves (to prevent skinned knuckles. You'll thank me for it later). A new a/c drive belt (might as well), masking tape.
-The Toyota engine manual is a must, especially if you have the habit of screwing things up. (Otherwise it makes a rather nice place to rest your head, while working underneath the car...)
-you'll want to bag and tag all of the nuts, bolts, etc., to aid in re-assembly later.
-stretch out your back and abdominal muscles. Stretch out your biceps and triceps. You'll be sore for only (3) days after instead of (4) days like I was.
-remove the decorative engine cover on the right hand side, adjacent to the deck lid.
-remove the shock tower brace, and set it aside.
-remove existing intercooler tubing from the turbo to the inter-cooler and from the intercooler into the throttle body. Tape "shut" the openings to the turbocharger and to the throttle body. We used wide masking tape. You can use clean shop rags, but what real man has any of those, for Pete's sake?! You may wish to clean the throttle body with that special aerosol cleaner.
-remove the engine lifting hook.
-loosen the 14mm nut in the middle of the a/c drive pulley. You will have to re-tension the drive belt later on installation. This nut is impossible to loosen after the idler pulley has been removed from the car. Trust me on this one.
-loosen the belt tensioner, and remove the a/c drive belt.
-remove the idler pulley attached to the engine block (for the a/c compressor). This was extremely difficult owing to access. There is a 12 mm bolt directly underneath the idler bracket, right where you cannot see it. As hard as it is to remove, it is twice as hard to install. You're on your own here.
-remove the drive belt attached to the engine main pulley and the a/c compressor and the idler pulley.
-disconnect the electrical connector attached to the intercooler fan.
-disconnect the electrical connector attached to the electric clutch on the a/c compressor.
-disconnect the electrical connector from the oxygen sensor.
NOTE: Label both halves of each connector with masking tape. You'll thank me for it later.
-remove the intercooler fan.
-jack up the rear of the car on sturdy car jacks (not the one used to replace the spare tire!).
-place wheel chocks or 4x4 lumber behind and in front of the front tires.
-with everybody standing clear, give the car a gentle shake to ensure that it is firmly and safely jacked. It is not necessary to remove the wheels/tires. For access room , jack the rear tires at least 2 inches (5 cm) above the garage floor.
-remove the lower plastic shrouds (10 mm socket on an electric drill works great). Try to take note of how it all goes back together. You do not want any parts left over, not that this would ever happen to you.... NOTE: wear those safety glasses. Road grime will fall into to your eyes, as will rust, tools and other nasty surprises, like nuts and bolts.....ouch
-that shiny spotlessly black lumpy looking thing is your fuel tank. Not very many human beings have actually seen one of these on an MR-2 , so stand proud, and tell all your friends. Your friends think that you are weird for not driving a "sport futility" in any event, so what the hell...
-it pays to check for any fluid leaks, and exhaust leaks, as well as rust, broken bits and other nasty surprises.
-remove the diagonal stiffening brace on the right rear side, just in front of the engine main pulley. This thing is about 14 inches long. It is a good idea to mark it with masking tape in order to re-install it later. You will be too tired to figure it all out, trust me on this one.
-remove the 10 mm nut on a stud which attaches (2) a/c hoses. This is located near the stiffening brace, and will allow you to move the a/c compressor out of the way.
-remove the (2) 12 mm bolts which attach the a/c compressor to the engine block. These were removed with a 12 mm combination wrench. There will be a hose in the way, which will make the job difficult. HINT: The heads of these bolts point forward towards the passenger compartment. Re-installing the a/c compressor was extremely frustrating, since you cannot see or feel the holes that the bolts go into. This is where it helps to have a friend holding the a/c compressor from above, while you try to attach the bolts from below. A drift or a long nail may help you to line things up. Or you can be incredibly lucky, like Shane was. It helps to know a few well chosen dirty words here. It also helps if you are not tired from installing front and rear sway bars, like we did that day.
-jack the car down, and remove all of the tools that you left down there.
-at this point you will be wondering why you volunteered for this mission in the first place.
REASON: equal amounts of naiveté and stupidity. After all, you don't have to be a masochist to work on mid-engined cars, but it sure helps.
-remove the stock intercooler. Note, we had to loosen all of the clips which attach a solid vacuum line. This will provide the additional clearance needed to remove the intercooler. This line is attached to your intake manifold (and is olive green in colour), and runs forward through the firewall. Exercise extreme caution not to damage this line while removing the intercooler. You may even wish to wrap it with masking tape, temporarily. We had to bend this pipe inboard (towards the driver's side) to twist the intercooler out. We also had to shove the a/c compressor out of the way to allow the intercooler to be removed. Believe it or not, I actually removed the intercooler by standing on the driver's side of the car, and gently pulling. Now that the intercooler is out, give the exposed body work a good wipe, and a spray with "rustcheck". (this step is optional in non-corrosive climates).
-remove the stock intercooler shroud. There is one bolt that is extremely difficult to see and remove on the lower forward side. You will need a (6) inch extension and it can only be accessed from the outside of the vehicle. The good news is that it will not have to be re-installed. Nor will the shroud itself. Put it with your other pile of obsolete Toyota parts.
-assemble your new $1000.00 stainless steel intercooler. It helps to grunt like a cave man at this point. This unit is really well constructed. They should have provided an electric fan at this price, but hey it's Shane's money, not mine... The flex tubing is blue silicone, really nice stuff. There are even provisions for extra fuel injectors. Most people don't use these provisions, unless they want to experience time dilation firsthand....
-install the studs into the car using the GREDDY supplied hardware.
-install the new intercooler with the locking nuts supplied. We added extra lock washers. This thing is welded stainless steel, and weighs more than the stock unit. It is really easy to damage the fins on your brand new intercooler, so be careful.
-install the stock fan or install an after-market "SPAL" unit for better flow.
-hook up all of the plumbing.
-re-install the a/c compressor, the idler pulley and the engine lifting hook.
-re-install a new a/c drive belt and tension it properly.
-re-attach all of the underneath the car stuff (hey, I TOLD you that this was a job for an experienced Toyota do-it-yourselfer..
-lower the car hopefully for the last time.
-re-install everything that is left, except for the old tubing and intercooler of course.
-check all of your connections twice, and adhere to the torque guidelines in the engine repair manual (that you have been using as a pillow up to this point).
-re-install the shock tower brace last. You may have to adjust your plumbing to allow clearance for the brace. Do not cut or tweak the brace to fit it in.
-start your car and check for leakage using your hands.
NOTE: Exercise extreme caution not to get your hands caught. You will be very , very tired at this point, and safety will be the last thing on your mind.
-other than that, this job was a piece of cake....